During the Deutsche Bank 2016 Media, Internet & Telecom Conference, Disney bossBob Igertalked about the plans for bothRogue One: A Star Wars Storyand the eventual spin-off that focuses on a youngHan Solo. While Iger more or less rehashed the logline ofRogue One, he also revealed that the as of yet untitled Han Solo movie will actually be an origin story about the talented space pilot/smugglerand his pal Chewbacca!So not only will Chewie be featured in the film, we’ll likely get to see how the two best buds ended up meeting in the first place.
Here’s what Iger had to say (viaThe Wrap):
“Rogue One … is about a band of rebels plotting to steal the plans to the Death Star. It takes place right before George Lucas‘s first film, which came out in 1977 and is now called ‘The New Hope.'
We have others in the works, including one, which is an origin story about Han Solo and Chewy. And that’ll come after ‘Star Wars 8’ in 2018. And then there will possibly more thereafter.”
In addition to confirming Chewbacca’s appearance, Iger also assured investors that the new films that are outside of the main plot would be marketed “differently, but aggressively.” In other words, they’re going to have to work a bit harder to sell you on something you haven’t necessarily been waiting for all your life.
In light of this news, let’s get caught up on the upcomingStar Warsfilms. Starting withRogue One, here’s what we know: Directed byGareth Edwardsand starringFelicity Jones,Diego Luna,Ben Mendelsohn,Donnie Yen,Jiang Wen,Forest Whitaker,Mads Mikkelsen,Alan Tudyk- who plays a performance-capture character – andRiz Ahmed,Rogue One: A Star Wars Storywill follow “band of resistance fighters [who] unite for a daring mission to steal the Death Star plans.” Like Iger mentioned above, it will take place just before the events of the originalStar Warsfilm. Since Disney has yet to announce a decision on who will be playing the new, younger version of Solo, there’s a chance he’ll be making some sort of cameo appearance in the year-end film.
Here’s a look at our recent coverage ofRogue One, which opens December 16th:
Now, let’s talk about that young Han Solo spin-off.Phil LordandChris Millerwill be directing the untitled film, which should star one of the actors on this shortlist of hopefuls:Miles Teller(Whiplash),Ansel Elgort(The Fault in Our Stars),Dave Franco(Neighbors),Jack Reynor(Transformers: Age of Extinction),Scott Eastwood(The Longest Ride),Logan Lerman(The Perks of Being a Wallflower),Emory Cohen(Brooklyn) andBlake Jenner(Everybody Wants Some). This was reported in mid-January with a plan to screen test the above-mentioned actors for Lord and Miller. Though a decision was expected a few weeks after that, we’ve yet to hear any confirmations. Expect news on that front closer to the fourth-quarter release ofRogue Onein order to drive up interest in fans who want to glimpse the new Han Solo. Now, we can also look forward to seeing the next iteration of a younger Chewbacca!
